“Bring the boat,” said Zoia to Adam. “I’m outta here. The rest of you can come with me or stay, but this is bullshit.”
Ryu said, “No it’s not. I hate to agree with him when he’s angry, abusive and condescending, but he’s right. This is a huge screw-up. The protocols couldn’t have been clearer, and we just decided to ignore them. Zoia, you’re mad because he’s right and you don’t want to admit it. Not sure how you other two feel. I’m staying. My husband is an asshole, but we’re still married on paper.”
Adam said, “Thank you, Ryu,” and started to walk away.
Ryu said, “Hold on there, bub. I have some words for you too.”
“What?”
“You can be a wonderful companion, charm the knickers off of any woman and be a delight to be around or you can be an abusive asshole like you were just now. The sarcasm is not appreciated, and neither is the condescending lecture. Oh, I forgot, you’re always right, and you’re almost perfect. No, you are perfect.”
Adam calmly said, “Normally I would agree with you. And you’re right; maybe I could have handled this better. But the gravity of the situation has just changed. I don’t think you fully appreciate the full impact of what it means if this tech gets out. You can’t just say you’re sorry and we’re back to square one. This is catastrophic unless we control everything. For some reference reading, I urge you to read about Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite. Thought it would change the world and all for the better. It didn’t. It made things infinitely worse. I have things to do and will have to have a chat with Torii. Leave if you want to, it’s up to you. I told you working with me was not going to be easy. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“What are you going to do with Torii?”
“Put a bullet in her head and dump her cadaver off the cliffs.”
“You can’t do that,” said Parinda. “That’s murder.”
“And what do you think Torii and her friends will do to me, my family and you if they find us? Checkers? This is a zero-sum game. One wins, one loses. End of discussion.”
***
Adam grabbed his gun then set off for the Five Islands. The Professionals called ahead to everyone on the Islands and told them what Adam was going to do. Everyone, Saldana in particular, was freaked as were Darii and the nerds, who were visiting. They immediately went to the third island to warn Misti.
Alana said, “Torii asked if she could help. The Professionals could have done the correct thing and turned her down. She helped; good solid help. Now she dies because of someone else’s mistake?”
Misti said, “Let’s say we fix Liara today. Do we let Torii leave with all our tech tomorrow too? You can’t be serious. She’d have it on the open market as fast as she could sell it, then like a ghost, just disappear. People have evaded Niona. Adam thinks Torii can too. What do you recommend?”
Alana said, “I don’t know, but this is wrong. If he kills her, I’m leaving.”
“Up to you. I think Adam can do the rest of this on his own anyway. Take longer, but I’m betting on him. Are the rest of you with Alana?”
Reluctantly they all were. They could not condone outright murder.
Alana said, “You can give him a call and tell him the news. He should be here in another hour or so. Can you call Saldana and let me speak to her? Does she know?”
“She’s on her way now. And no, you can’t use the phone. Against protocols.”
***
When Adam arrived, he was greeted by the entire contingent of the Islanders, minus the Barrows Bay crowd who wanted nothing to do with any of this. Adam could be many things, they said, but if someone had to die, it was only to protect the family.
Beata said, “If you do this, we will all leave. You will be alone on the Islands with your family.
“OK. Pack your stuff and go. I’ll miss you all.”
“This isn’t a joke Adam. You will lose everyone who loves you.”
“I said goodbye, pack your shit and go. And thanks for the support. We’re all officially divorced and your services no longer necessary. I will take it from here and rebuild. You can go wherever the fuck you want. I’ll send severance.”
“You can’t do this.”
“I can and I will. You bluffed, I called, and you lost. Now go. I don’t need any of you like this.”
Adam said to Misti. “You can rejoin me at the residence, stay at the other one, or go. Your choice.”
“I’ll stay. Oddly what you did to me and what you intend to do to Torii, sadly, I agree with. These women here were just fair-weather friends. You’re an idiot when it comes to pussy, and now you’ve learned once again who can and cannot be trusted. Sadly again, that includes even me.”
Misti began to round up the women to herd them away and on transport back to Island One. But they wanted to stay to see if he was the monster he had pledged to be. Adam went into the house where Torii resided most of the day.
“Times up Torii. You failed to mention you had all our tech. I just found out.”
“You should be happy then.”
“I’m not. You cannot leave these islands with our tech. You’ll sell it or give it to Liara. I’m sorry to say, but I’m here to kill you.”
“Are you fucking nuts? I’d never turn on you.”
“That’s why you wanted assurances you could leave if Liara and Hanta were dead? What, fake deaths followed by your immediate departure and sale of the tech. Give it to her?”
“You’re wrong. Don’t do this.”
Adam raised his pistol and aimed. He pulled the trigger, but the gun didn’t fire.
Hecate appeared. “Wasn’t sure you would do it but you are a fucking adorable monster at times. I’m a little hot right now after that scene, but the big boss wants her alive. It seems we need to run some tests to find the Immortal who betrayed our Lord. I’ll take her now.”
Hecate perp walked Torii outside. “Show’s over, Torii lives. Adam was just about to shoot her though. Makes me love him even more — the courage of his convictions. I’ll drop this one off somewhere unpleasant and be back. I’m back now permanently and will explain it to … Misti, I guess. Adam’s going on vacation, and I’ll finish up for him here. The rest of you can scurry off wherever you wish. So that you know, Adam was right. Torii is a traitor working for Liara.”
“She was working for Liara all along?”
“Yep. Seems like she did her job well with the lesser minds here who just don’t get it. I’ve told Adam everything, and now his help is needed elsewhere while I finish up here. Nice place by the way. Love the gardens. Adam has forgiven me by the way. That’s the kind of guy he is when he’s got all the facts, isn’t lied to, evaded or deceived.”
Adam came out of the house. “I’ll be gone while my Lord commands my presence. When I return, I expect you here now to all be gone. Except for Hecate and Misti.”
He paused. “And Hecate, I’m not exactly pleased with you either.”
“Our Lord commanded it, and we must both obey. Besides, our Lord and I never thought you believed us for even a second. Am I right?”
“You are. At least I didn’t understand why at a minimum.”
“Now you do. Let me drop this one off; then I’ll be back and take you to him. But before I do, I need some cuddle time with you. Serious cuddle time. I’m Immortally horny.”
Chapter 31
As Adam prepared to leave on his boat for Island One where he would meet Hecate later, Ryu spoke up.
“I’m not leaving. I don’t care what I did or didn’t do, but this isn’t all my fault. You’re angry, and maybe you have plenty of reason to be. But I will stay until you get back from your mission or vacation or whatever you’re doing with Hecate. You can’t just get pissed off like a child and tell people, people who love you, to fuck off. If we have done something you don’t like, sit down with us and let’s get all the facts out. Misti’s ‘punishment was awfully short-lived, and she almost gave awa
y everything and got us killed all at the same time. She’s now free. But we accepted good help from someone you brought here, not us, and we get the death penalty?”
She paused.
“If you want us gone when you’re back, fine, I’ll leave. We thought Torii was on our team; she wasn’t. Saldana and your daughter vouched for her, but they get off scot-free too? No fucking way is this fair. I agree we all did things wrong; we were warned. But this isn’t fair, and you know it. It’s cruel to turn love on and off as you do. The rest of you ladies can do as you please. I will be in residence on Island One when you get back. Until then, I work.”
She turned to walk away.
“And one more thing, stop with the fucking threats. They’re beneath you, and they don’t have any effect on me. Go threaten Darii; maybe you can scare her. You don’t scare me.”
The Professionals got on their boat and left. They all decided to stay; if Adam wanted them gone, then, when he got back, he could tell them to leave face to face.
The nerds likewise calmed down and decided to stay. Their history with Adam was long and his temper well-known for leading to rash decisions. This was likely one of them, and they had no idea why he would threaten them, even though they threatened him first.
Adam was seething inside and couldn’t wait to get off the islands and away from these women. They didn’t get it. Saldana and Darii, but especially Darii, were now petrified. They loved Adam, their lives on the Garden Island, and felt safe for the first time in many years. That Torii was a traitor was hard to accept, and they were miserable about the whole thing. But they wouldn’t leave either. He would have to eject them forcibly.
***
Hecate returned, and the pair had a wonderful time catching up. She felt awful about misleading him, but the big boss said the only way to make it appear authentic was to do as planned. No other Immortals were on the Islands, except Niona because of her blade. It sent a message to Liara that the means of her death was now on Earth.
The sex was terrific; Adam missed his wife. She updated him on the kids, who were out of control, mainly because “Grandpa” was so permissive and forgiving of the horrid conduct. She could impose no order or discipline; they just ran to Granddaddy and whined until they got their way.
“They’re brats, just like you,” Hecate said.
“You mean like you. The apple didn’t fall far from the Mom tree.”
Slowly over two days, Hecate tried to convince Adam to relent and keep everyone on the island. He needed them; they loved him and were dedicated. They’re only human, she said in her most sensitive and kindest way, and, except Misti, the Professionals didn’t intend to ignore his directive. They just didn’t think things through — not a capital crime.
As to the nerds, she argued this was a moral spat between mortals and wasn’t a matter that most evolved humans ordinarily took lightly. Taking the life of a human by a human wasn’t popular in the modern world. Humanity had evolved, and there had to be another way. Jail Torii and take time to think this through, but a bullet to the brain wasn’t something he would remember without pain. It would haunt him.
Luckily, that situation was now resolved.
This was a delicate conversation between Hecate and Adam; Immortals all considered and never doubted that an Immortal qua Immortal was, by definition, a superior being with superior qualities, knowledge, and insight. Adam argued that knowledge without wisdom was mere self-indulgence. He had argued this to his Immortal wives and had even argued it to his Lord. The most he ever got in response was a smirk of superiority that Adam detested.
“They’re only human …”
Many lives ago, a similar argument had taken place.
“If you are so superior as you say, why is it that you seek love, compassion, emotions, and feelings that you cannot manufacture in your cold, loveless and frigid realm. You must lower yourselves to being with a mortal. Even our Lord now visits Earth for diversion and has his favorites, his loves, and his passions. How do you explain that?”
“I need not. I could cut off all contact with mortals, even you, and become an Immortal as our Lord intended.”
“You would miss nothing, not even me?”
“I am an Immortal. You are not. That is what the Lord intended for mortals. You shall end. I shall not. There would be nothing of value for me to miss.”
It took almost a year before Adam could even look at Hecate, and their relationship was never the same again after that. More than once Adam invited Hecate to leave and rejoin her kind, which he didn’t mean, but Hecate responded that the Lord had indentured her to him, so she was bound to stay. Hers was just as hollow an answer.
Adam commanded his wife to live elsewhere and apart from him, not just in another house but another part of the world. He forbade her from coming to him for any reason no matter the peril. She promised obedience, but often snuck into his home and dwelled within his mind. Adam knew it, accepted it and lived this transparent and nonsensical fiction like it was childhood theater. For some reason, they both tolerated the fiction, though why it was necessary was unknown.
She had lied that day and was deeply saddened for hurting him. She loved him and didn’t want an existence that didn’t include him. But she had said what she said and was just as prideful as he. The Lord finally put an end to the war of the spouses. He commanded that they apologize to each other, resume their conjugal and family obligations and never raise the subject again. Hecate was delighted; Adam felt betrayed believing the Lord had taken the easy way out siding with the Immortals. He did, however, obey. He felt mistreated, though he wanted his wife back and things as they had always been. Their emotional swings were difficult to understand except that when the solution was imposed on them, they didn’t fight it. Whenever the subject matter came up, which was rare, old wounds re-opened and often weeks or months would go by with Adam commanding Hecate to work elsewhere and leave him to his solitude.
***
In the end, as Adam always did with Hecate, he relented. Adam sent each of the women present on the Island that day a note of apology and said he was sorry for the way he acted. He admitted to his temper and rashness but still told them he was very unhappy with them for their behaviors. But Hecate reminded Adam what he had always reminded her; that, as with children, you can hate their behavior, but love the child. This, in her opinion, was no different.
If the others could reconcile when he returned, she would be happy to moderate. If he crossed the line with anyone, they could leave, no questions asked and with a bigger severance. Adam could be frigidly cold when things came to an impasse. It was Hecate’s job to moderate the mortals, but always, in the end, it was their choice whether or not to side with Adam.
“I shall do as you ask, Immortal,” said Adam to Hecate without even a pretense of affection he did not then feel. He said, “You grow closer to the old arguments that once set us apart, Hecate. I shall remind you and our Lord when I speak to him, that you’re indentured to me, not I to you. If winning this argument means ending this relationship, then do so whenever it pleases you. Otherwise, it is my wish that we never speak of it again as we have been commanded by our Lord. If you cannot do that, I shall seek eternal peace, and you may return to your eternity of a loveless and meaningless existence. You may tell my other Immortal wives of my decision, and the Lord himself for all I care. I shall do the same. I hope I have made myself clear.”
“You have a husband; I shall obey your wishes in this matter as I obey our Lord. I wish only to be with you for eternity and for us to be happy. And I am happy and love you with all my heart.”
Nothing in their relationship would ever be quite the same after that day; neither conceded anything to the other on that single issue. Hecate continued to choose whether to ignore anything else Adam asked for, requested or demanded whenever they lived as man and wife. Adam considered this behavior normal between married couples; agreeing to disagree was a healthy aspect of any re
lationship.
The Lord’s view was that Immortals had specific skills as did mortals. Their purposes under Heaven were different. The Lord had never intended them to be the same; to him arguing about it was like a plumber arguing with a surgeon about whose skills were superior. It didn’t matter. Each was tasked to do different things. As he once told Adam, the surgeon should try living in a world that didn’t include a plumber, a carpenter or an electrician.
***
Ryu responded right away to her note saying that in her book, all was forgiven and it never happened. As for the other ladies, she thought things would heal over time and, in typical Ryu fashion, said that if it didn’t, then fuck them, they were superfluous anyway.
She had no idea just how true that was.
***
Adam asked Hecate, “You have all the stuff about automating the islands and all the AI that needs to be installed?”
“Yes, for the hundredth time. I’ll reload the ladies’ minds and parcel out the work. Now we need to go; he gets very impatient when we’re late.”
“Take him back to Earth for a vacation. He always calms down after that.”
“Just like you, my love. Just like you.”
***
Adam was gone, now with his Lord working on some plan to trap and find Liara. Some of his wives were confused; could not their Lord simply find and end Liara? Why did so powerful an entity need a mortal, or for that matter, any other being? Was this being they called “Lord” not God? As Adam explained to his mortal wives, his Lord was not, nor had he ever claimed to be, the One True God. He was the Lord of his realm, a creator of life and worlds, but he did not automatically know the hearts and minds of any mortal on any planet in any of his Universes.
This being was “Lord” in the same sense as a feudal “Lord” on Earth during the Middle Ages. Except that this Lord was far more powerful than mortal Lords but no less quixotic.
If mortals wished to pray to an Almighty God, they were free to do so; it just wasn’t to him. This Lord gave mortals the gift of free will. In his mind, that ended his need to ever intervene in their affairs, except in the occasional event where a mortal race became too dominant, too cruel or too destructive. Then he sent his Immortals, like Niona the Huntress or her sister. Fionna, the Immortal, to end their existence and begin another, hopefully, better experiment.
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